Mortal Magic: Broken

The first days passed slowly as I kept helping Yuto preserve his energy and made sure he would make it through the week. We needed more water than usual since both of us were to be denied food, him for the transition as they call it here and me as punishment for not following orders. I was used to it though, it was not my first disobedience act and I certainly wouldn’t be my last. Not before the blood moon coming in a few days, that was when I would make my move. That was when I would be taking this place down; on the night I would be at my strongest. The night I was born was always the strongest blood moon for me, only this time I was not sure I would survive it. Yuto agreed to help me with whatever I decided to do, he wanted to help since I was the reason he is still alive.

While he was fighting some of the small fry I advised him how to make the fight easier since I could study his enemies with more experience than he could. His fights were a child’s play compared to mine though. I was pinned against the best they could find, and they were not magi you could just capture and bring here, they were hired to kill me. The bummer for them was that they never did since I killed them instead, but in the process I was getting more injured with every fight. I was about to fight against one more today, the second in the same day and that was unusual for me. I was brought to the arena once a day, tops. They didn’t like the fact that I killed every prisoner they brought here so I was a special treat for those who wanted a one-sided fight. I got into the arena and waited as my opponent appeared on the other side from the Iron Gate. He was bulky and bald, his muscles twice as big as mine and he was visibly taller than me for sure and his skin had a dark brown tint. His whole body was worth two of mine, this guy was a monster in the form, and I had yet to see his magic affinity.

We got to the center of the arena and he flashed an arrogant smile at me before winking at me like I was the whore he was going to take any moment now. That irritated me to no end and I was sure my face was bright red from my anger right now. His arrogance knew no bounds, so I am going to teach him a lesson and wipe the floor with his corpse. I was tired from my previous fight a few hours ago and I had a big wound on my back that was killing me every time I moved but I could handle him if I was careful. Maybe even without getting worse than I already am.

After another boring introduction the magical bang sounded again signaling that we were to battle. He rushed towards me at once and grabbed me by my middle as he brought us both to the ground. The moment I hit the floor I used his weight and threw his body behind me, but I had to use my back to roll to do so, and I made myself struggle to not yell in pain. When I got up as fast as I could I was sweating and panting from the exertion and pain but I had to keep up appearances. If they knew I was in bad shape they would make me fight to my death without breaks. The man got up within seconds and yelled like a mad man. “Boost”. That was a high tier magical arte for sure. I felt mana gather around him and fuel his body to give him traits that I was in no condition to find out. Before I could react he dashed faster than before and his fist collided with my stomach as I bent down from the blow and pain overtook my senses. The man held me with the same hand he hit me and drove his elbow to my back, right at the huge cut I got before and I was too lost to even scream. My senses were failing me one by one, I felt numb and cold, the smell of blood filled my nostrils as my blood slip through my clothes, my sight became blurry and then everything was black. I felt the hard surfaces collide with my body as I was thrown to the wall and then hit the floor and that was all I needed to lose the little conscious thoughts I had left.

In the darkness I could think only of one thing. I was about to die here, I was not in any shape to fight this monster. He boosted his strength, speed and gods know what else with one single arte. I felt myself getting lost to the darkness of death, but I was not ready to die yet. Not here, not before I make him pay. Not before I get what I want from him. Pushing my body to its limits I forced myself to get up from the floor and face the man again. I was trembling visibly and my balance was a joke. One gentle push and I might actually give in and die here, but until then I had time. I had time to use one last arte that would decide my fate before my body gave in. Gathering my mana for the arte I was about to use I concentrated and readied myself for its effects. “Last… Phantasm”. Using all I could give I powered my single double-edged arte and prepared for the worst. This arte is all about the endurance of the user and the stamina of the victim. I create a special projection with all the mana I wanted and fired it at the man. The weapon itself was a spear that always hit the target no matter the distance, obstacles or counters. The speed of the spear was faster than what I could ever imagine the first time I used it, and no one managed to stop it once fired. This was the only projection with a different color, instead of the usual purple, it was a bright glowing crimson red for reasons I could not fathom.

With a loud scream I brought my hand forward and the glowing red spear aimed for the man’s chest flew faster than you could see it and hit the man in the chest before pushing him to the wall on his back. The projection didn’t pierce his body, but the force was tremendous and the man was screaming. He was alive because of his magic, it made his skin harder than metal but he could still feel everything. I kept my hand in the air facing him no matter how hard it was to keep it that way, no matter how much force was pushing me to the ground from the aftermath of the continuous recoil from the spear. If I drop my hand, it’s over for real. After what seemed like forever the fight between our wills ended and the spear sank in his body, nailing his heart to the wall right when the spear itself started cracking. I immediately dropped to my knees and gasped for air as the spectators were gasping in surprise and fear.

Pushing myself even more I forced my body to get up and walk slowly to the door I that lead to the cells. The guard opened the door with his mouth agape and stared at me in fear as I passed. He followed me from afar as I made my way to the cells and another guard opened the door to the prisoner quarters. I knew I looked awful and beaten like an animal, and the pain was too much now that the adrenaline left my body. Grunting in every step I got to my cell and collapsed before the door. Many prisoners saw me and most of them I knew were happy with my condition, while some were afraid to imagine something like this happening to them.

Suddenly I felt hands trying to lift me from the floor and get me inside. Before I knew it my shirt was torn off my body and I was laid on the bed face down. I felt something extremely cold touching my back that burned like hell and the pain intensified tenfold. I greeted my teeth and despite my efforts I screamed in pain as the cloth in Yuto’s hands came down my wounded back once more. He stopped and put something hard in my mouth that tasted like wood. “Bite down on this or you are likely to bite your tongue off”. He dipped the cloth in the water again and squeezed it to leave any excess water before wiping my back again. I assumed he was wiping the blood from the wound. Then I felt his hands on the cut and heat burst through them burning my skin as I screamed louder than before. After a few seconds his hands left my back and he assessed the damage. “I need to burn the wound again it is deep. You need to stay conscious or you might die so hold on”. Taking a deep breath I could never be prepared for another cauterizing session but I had no voice in the matter. Yuto placed his hands on the cut again and the heat came forth again, this time even worse. Not only did he burn my skin, but he was actually burning a whole part of the muscles underneath. I could feel the heat all the way to my spine.

When he was done I was more dead than alive. I could hear him and see his blurry figure as he worked with what he got to make me get better, but I felt numb and exhausted. I was sure I was about to pass out and he knew it too. It wasn’t that my body was in a bad shape; it was that I didn’t have the experience men years older than me had with injuries; I was too young to be able to handle such strain all of a sudden. He came in front of me and took the wooden object from the bed after it fell from my mouth and with panic in his eyes he started slapping my face gently. I had closed my eyes and my breathing was getting slower and then I felt him press his hand on my back, at the same spot he used his fire and I half grunted half screamed in pain, but I opened my eyes and starting panting and breathing fast.

He kept putting the cloth on top of my back drenched in cold water to lower the temperature from the burn as I tried to stay awake which was a hard task. He had to resort to pain to bring me back a few more times, but I was not angry at him, in fact I was glad. He was making sure I stayed alive, and that meant the world to me in this place. When the night came hours later that felt more like days, he went to bring more cold water and he told me that I can try to sleep now. The critical part was done and I just had to rest and heal for now. Frankly I had no idea how that was possible in this place, I would have to get up and fight again tomorrow.

The next morning I woke up to find Yuto sleeping on the other bed and a cup filled with water on the table. I tried to raise my body with my hands to grab the cup and brought it to my lips. The cold liquid was the best thing to my dry mouth after all this. I took only two gulps and left the cup back on the table before I decided to lie back down. I must have fallen asleep again and when I woke again it was night and Yuto was just coming in the cell with water dripping from his bare slightly hairy chest. His shirt had washed blood marks on it, huge so I figured he had been in the arena again. “I see you are back with the living again. You’ve been sleeping for nearly two days now. And I understand tomorrow is your birthday”. He threw his shirt on his bed and came to take the cloth from my back again to dip it in the water before placing it pack on. The sensation was not painful anymore, but it was weird to my burned skin to have something touch it. I knew for a fact that if I tried to stretch it would be excruciating so I didn’t, even if I wanted to so much.

“Tomorrow is the blood moon? Then that means we still have a chance. I need to create enough mana to be able to use the moon to its fullest”. He looked at me confused and then recognition dawned in his mind. “No, absolutely not. You can’t even get up from bed; you can’t possibly think you can do this. In this condition you are sure to die if you try it”. He was right, as I am now I was as good as dead if I tried to use the moon to escape tomorrow night. But I couldn’t wait anymore. The blood eclipse was coming in two moons and I hadn’t even escaped. I had to find him before he got through with his plans. “There is no more time Yuto. I won’t survive any longer in here, not like this. They will use my injury to kill me and I can’t die before I get him. The moon I was born in is two times stronger than any other; when the moon rises tomorrow I will be nearly unstoppable with all the mana that I will produce. Granted if I try the plan now I will most probably die after, but I have to try either way”.

I used my hands to raise my body from the bed and I felt the near tear of my flesh as I got up sitting on the edge of the bed. I dropped my gaze to the floor while Yuto was still realizing what I was saying. “Why are you acting so stupid? Why are you pushing yourself to your limits? Your body can’t handle the strain you put yourself through”. He was right. My body was at its limits, and by still pushing it I was sure to lose my life soon. But I can’t just stay here and let him go away with doing what he wants. One way or another, I will find him and kill him, or I will die trying. “For the same reason you decided to fight yourself. Like you I have a reason to keep me going. Even if this ruined body of mine is about to perish I will fight to keep the promise I made to myself”. After these words the memory of my little sister came to my mind and my face hardened in anger. “Besides, I too have a wish I want granted like you. Even if it is an impossible dream, even if it will never be granted I still want to try. Then I can die in peace in the next moment for all I care”. He didn’t say a thing and I was grateful for that. What I needed now wasn’t someone to try and talk me out of it; I needed to get out of here, no matter the cost. And I would free myself even if I had to kill everyone in here.